The Food Site

I’ve never eaten Vietnamese food before and had no idea what it’s like at all. All I could think of was that it probably has rice and noodles and that’s as far as I could think. I didn’t know if it was spicy like Thai food or pickled like Korean or raw like Japanese. So, I didn’t really suddenly decide to try it out.

It was all those insidous ‘marketing’ by people I know. Every once in a while, I’d hear someone rave on and on about how great the food at Miss Saigon is. So, in the end, we gave in and went there to try for ourselves.

The ambience is good enough, considering it is one of a row of restaurants at E-Gate.

I ordered tea and I like it that they serve it in a mini tea pot and in a thin heart-shaped china cup. Cute.

We took the lazy way out and ordered one of the huge sets for four which practically contained everything from fish to chicken to egg to vegetables to spring rolls. I’ll have to say one thing though, the waiters aren’t local and their English aren’t very good either SO there is plenty of room for misunderstanding. We specifically said we don’t eat beef (due to religious reasons) and told them to replace the beef on this set with something else. Well, it came without the beef although I had suspiciously sniffed at every dark-coloured meat just to be sure.

BUT.

We also ordered a bowl of rice noodles soup.

It came with beef in it. That is despite our repeated reminders that we don’t eat beef! Fortunately, the waiter was kind enough to change it for us after we explained it to him for several painful minutes of gestures and broken English mixed with Bahasa.

We also ordered a plate of rice with grilled chicken for Mr Picky:

Well, I have to say, Vietnamese food is not as strange as I thought it would be although it too has quite a number of beef dishes. Surprisingly, I liked the food there and though not exceptionally good, it passed muster. However, I’d prefer that their waiters learn more English.

Not exactly cheap, mind you, but still, quite reasonably priced.

Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$

Miss Saigon Restaurant

E-Gate

Tel: 04-3776083

Now, before I start, I’d like to tell you readers that after today, I’d be away for a short holiday in Bangkok so my posts will all be time-stamped posts until next month. Don’t worry, I’ll give you a close up look at what we ate (including any creepy crawlies) in Bangkok once I get back.

Okay, now, let’s move on to the spicy taste of Mexican food. I’ve always loved mexican food because of all the spices! I remember when we went to LA, we particularly tried out some of the mexican fast foods there too and though, those probably can’t compare to the real thing, I love them no less.

When Traders Hotel invited me over for some Mexican food, I jumped at it. What can I say? Who could resist burritos, fajitas and chili the mexican style? I can only hope that they won’t have too many beef dishes…

Although it’s supposed to be a Mexican buffet dinner, The Islander is known to have some international dishes so the starters, appetizers and desserts are quite varied:

They have sushi…

They have salads…

A bed of shrimps, crabs and oysters on ice.

Of course, they have a mexican style soup: Pinto Bean Soup

If you like pinto beans, you will like this. Furthermore it is creamy and quite, quite rich. I’m not a pinto bean fan so I gave this a miss while The Food Critic finished it. Mr Picky didn’t want to even touch it but that’s just him being typically picky. To him, soups are all supposed to be clear soup.

The last time I had a burrito was years and years ago so I had to give it a try. A note to all: don’t take too long photographing the burritos or else it will become sorta limp and chewy instead of when it is freshly made. The burritos are pretty simple creations, it is tortilla wraps stuffed with vegetables and chicken and loaded up with sauces, although I’d prefer they use salsa.

The other thing, the ones that look like karipaps, I don’t know what they are called but they tasted like a mexican version of our local currypuffs. It is stuffed with meat, beans and vegetables.

Mexican food is not complete without chili con carne which they have a plenty. Again, we have to give this a miss since it is ground beef with chili and beans. Sigh. And it does look so inviting.

So, we went for the lamb which is tender and cooked just nice.

One thing though, this buffet is great for fish lovers because they have at least three different types of fish. Grilled fish, fish tamales and lime fish. Above is the fish tamales, which is the mexican style fish curry. No bones for you to pick through too because they use fish fillets. How very convenient.

They have a big huge grilled fish topped with a tomato-chili type of paste, so you have to cut out a small piece for yourself to try:

Other than that, they have chili roast duck, picante de mariscos (mixed seafood in chili tomato sauce), roast chicken, chili stir fried beef, coriander rice, cheesy vegetables, mashed potatoes and a load of different international dishes. So, it may be a Mexican theme buffet but I’d say it is more international than anything with quite a variety to choose from.

Here are some of the things we ate:

As you can see, we have sushi and sashimi, steamed shrimps, roast duck, the different types of fish, lamb and rice. The roast duck is a must-try. It has crispy skin and damn delicious.

Next, the desserts…

They have an array of ice cream, cakes, local kuih and this weird UFO-lookalike. I don’t know what it’s called and don’t know what’s inside so I took one out of curiosity.

It’s some mango paste inside. The pastry is saltish and inside is sweet mango. Not bad.

All in, the Taste of Mexico is worth a try if you want to try out mexican food (without needing to book a flight to Mexico). The best part about buffet dinners in The Islander is that if you go in a group and someone in your group is not that into mexican food, they can still go for the other international-style fare while you tuck into the chili dishes, burritos and such. I also understand that they change the menu every Sunday so when you go, some of the dishes may be different.

Taste of Mexico

The Islander, Traders Hotel

Price: RM66nett (adult) RM33nett (children below 12 and senior citizens)

Promotion period: March & April 2009

For reservations: 04- 2622622